Malignant melanoma in situ

What Is Melanoma In Situ?

Melanoma in situ comes from the Latin phrase "in situ," which means "in place." Melanoma in situ is cancer in the very early stages, when it affects only the top layer of the skin. At this point, the cancer has not spread deeper into the body. Cancer diagnosed at this early stage also means that it is less likely to recur or spread to other parts of the body than melanomas that are diagnosed at a later stage. 

How Is Melanoma In Situ Treated?
The treatment for melanoma in situ is usually fairly simple. In a doctor's office, an outpatient procedure can be performed in which the melanoma is cut out of the skin, a process that medical personnel call resecting or excising.

"The treatment option for early stage melanoma is a wide excision procedure," says Bruce A. Brod, MD, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "The key prognostic feature in melanoma is the thickness [in millimeters] of the melanoma, which is based on the initial biopsy of the lesion."

How much skin needs to be cut out depends, then, on the biopsy results. "The consensus for treatment of melanoma in situ is to remove a half-centimeter diameter around the lesion or the initial biopsy site," Dr. Brod says. "The consensus for treating melanomas less than 2 millimeters in thickness is to remove a 1-centimeter diameter, if possible, around the lesion."

If the melanoma is larger in size, more skin may need to be removed, and a biopsy performed. "In melanomas greater than 2 millimeters [in thickness], the consensus is to excise a 2-centimeter diameter area around the lesion," he says. "Since melanoma can spread to the lymph nodes in close proximity to the initial melanoma, a biopsy of lymph nodes is sometimes performed for melanoma close to or greater than 1 millimeter in thickness at the time of the wide excision procedure."

Following Up on Melanoma in Situ
The good news? People who are diagnosed with melanoma in situ and receive early treatment have a great survival rate — 100 percent at 5 and 10 years. And everyone with melanoma in situ, including those diagnosed at an early stage, should check in with their doctors frequently to be certain that the cancer has not returned. Patients should have a complete physical and skin exam every six months for a year or two after their initial diagnosis, and typically once each year for several years after that.

When melanoma is found early, it is easily cured with simple outpatient surgery.  When found in later stages, it may become life-threatening, and there are few effective therapies to treat metastasized melanoma.

What Is Melanoma In Situ?

Melanoma in situ comes from the Latin phrase "in situ," which means "in place." Melanoma in situ is cancer in the very early stages, when it affects only the top layer of the skin. At this point, the cancer has not spread deeper into the body. Cancer diagnosed at this early stage also means that it is less likely to recur or spread to other parts of the body than melanomas that are diagnosed at a later stage. 

How Is Melanoma In Situ Treated?
The treatment for melanoma in situ is usually fairly simple. In a doctor's office, an outpatient procedure can be performed in which the melanoma is cut out of the skin, a process that medical personnel call resecting or excising.

"The treatment option for early stage melanoma is a wide excision procedure," says Bruce A. Brod, MD, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "The key prognostic feature in melanoma is the thickness [in millimeters] of the melanoma, which is based on the initial biopsy of the lesion."

How much skin needs to be cut out depends, then, on the biopsy results. "The consensus for treatment of melanoma in situ is to remove a half-centimeter diameter around the lesion or the initial biopsy site," Dr. Brod says. "The consensus for treating melanomas less than 2 millimeters in thickness is to remove a 1-centimeter diameter, if possible, around the lesion."

If the melanoma is larger in size, more skin may need to be removed, and a biopsy performed. "In melanomas greater than 2 millimeters [in thickness], the consensus is to excise a 2-centimeter diameter area around the lesion," he says. "Since melanoma can spread to the lymph nodes in close proximity to the initial melanoma, a biopsy of lymph nodes is sometimes performed for melanoma close to or greater than 1 millimeter in thickness at the time of the wide excision procedure."

Following Up on Melanoma in Situ
The good news? People who are diagnosed with melanoma in situ and receive early treatment have a great survival rate — 100 percent at 5 and 10 years. And everyone with melanoma in situ, including those diagnosed at an early stage, should check in with their doctors frequently to be certain that the cancer has not returned. Patients should have a complete physical and skin exam every six months for a year or two after their initial diagnosis, and typically once each year for several years after that.

When melanoma is found early, it is easily cured with simple outpatient surgery.  When found in later stages, it may become life-threatening, and there are few effective therapies to treat metastasized melanoma.

What Is Melanoma In Situ?

Melanoma in situ comes from the Latin phrase "in situ," which means "in place." Melanoma in situ is cancer in the very early stages, when it affects only the top layer of the skin. At this point, the cancer has not spread deeper into the body. Cancer diagnosed at this early stage also means that it is less likely to recur or spread to other parts of the body than melanomas that are diagnosed at a later stage. 

How Is Melanoma In Situ Treated?
The treatment for melanoma in situ is usually fairly simple. In a doctor's office, an outpatient procedure can be performed in which the melanoma is cut out of the skin, a process that medical personnel call resecting or excising.

"The treatment option for early stage melanoma is a wide excision procedure," says Bruce A. Brod, MD, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "The key prognostic feature in melanoma is the thickness [in millimeters] of the melanoma, which is based on the initial biopsy of the lesion."

How much skin needs to be cut out depends, then, on the biopsy results. "The consensus for treatment of melanoma in situ is to remove a half-centimeter diameter around the lesion or the initial biopsy site," Dr. Brod says. "The consensus for treating melanomas less than 2 millimeters in thickness is to remove a 1-centimeter diameter, if possible, around the lesion."

If the melanoma is larger in size, more skin may need to be removed, and a biopsy performed. "In melanomas greater than 2 millimeters [in thickness], the consensus is to excise a 2-centimeter diameter area around the lesion," he says. "Since melanoma can spread to the lymph nodes in close proximity to the initial melanoma, a biopsy of lymph nodes is sometimes performed for melanoma close to or greater than 1 millimeter in thickness at the time of the wide excision procedure."

Following Up on Melanoma in Situ
The good news? People who are diagnosed with melanoma in situ and receive early treatment have a great survival rate — 100 percent at 5 and 10 years. And everyone with melanoma in situ, including those diagnosed at an early stage, should check in with their doctors frequently to be certain that the cancer has not returned. Patients should have a complete physical and skin exam every six months for a year or two after their initial diagnosis, and typically once each year for several years after that.

When melanoma is found early, it is easily cured with simple outpatient surgery.  When found in later stages, it may become life-threatening, and there are few effective therapies to treat metastasized melanoma.